Looping start up on XP

[vegaswilly]

I restarted yesterday and the thing just keeps looping going from showing me my vid card info (which is normal), then going to the 'starting windows' page and then it winds up on the menu options for starting (I chose safe mode), and then after that it goes right back to the vid card info thing and starts the process all over again?  That is first for me.

Anyway to fix this.  Should I just re-install XP?  If that is the case, how would I install it while it is going through that looping process?

Any help would be great and thanks in advance!

[Broni]

See, if it'll start into Safe Mode. Start tapping F8 key when your computer starts.

[dahlarbear]

I restarted yesterday and the thing just keeps looping going from showing me my vid card info (which is normal), then going to the 'starting windows' page and then it winds up on the menu options for starting (I chose safe mode), and then after that it goes right back to the vid card info thing and starts the process all over again?  That is first for me.

1.  I believe he already "...chose safe mode...".

2.  Tap F8 key about once per second during startup to get to "Windows Advance Options Menu".

3.  Once there, select the following item:

    Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked)

4.  If that doesn't resolve the "restart cycle" that you appear to be in, and you're running Windows XP SP2; from the "Windows Advanced Options Menu" select the following item:

    Disable automatic restart on system failure

Hopefully you'll now stop at a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) that has error message text and numbers on it.  If you copy this data exactly as it appears and post it here, someone can search internet using "substrings" of the error message to find potential causes and resolutions.

I don't believe this "item" appears on earlier versions of Windows XP (original or SP1).

5.  What service pack level are you at?  Original, SP1, SP2?

6.  Do you have Windows XP setup CD and is it original, SP1, or SP2?

7.  If you want to read ahead see the following links (and sublinks):

     http://searchwinit.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid1_gci968110,00.html

8.  Please post back after step 3 or 4; let us know what worked, what didn't work, and where you're at.

[vegaswilly]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I Did the 'last known config' and it still looped.

I got to your paragraph 4 and that didn't work.

Also, I believe I only have SP1 installed because there was no 'disable automatic restart' on system failure option.  I tried every other option on the menu with the same results.

I do have a e-machines restore CD, but that was a little scary.  Once I booted up with that it gave me a message that it would 'restore contents of hard drive to it's original state when I acquired the PC and would repartition the hard drive and reformat the hard disk'.  I'm afraid had I hit the enter button I would lose all of my data.  Am i correct?

On your paragraph 8: I do not have the XP setup CD, but again I believe I am at the SP1 level.

I can borrow a friends XP install disk tomorrow and maybe do a cold boot with that? 

I really hate the fact that I get my own owner code for XP when I buy a PC but they don't give me an XP disk (but that is another issue).

Anyway, any more thoughts on this are welcome.

[dahlarbear]

1.  Restore CD.  Yes, if you had continued with the e-machines restore CD you would have lost all of your data.


2.  Check File System.  From your description, it appears that your system recognizes the hard drive, successfully reads the Master Boot Record (MBR), successfully reads the Boot Record, and is attempting to load your operating system.  At this point I would verify the integrity of the file system upon which Windows is located as well as the surface of the disk within that partition.  You may use the "chkdsk" utility within Windows XP "Recovery Console" to do this. Hopefully this will clear up any file system issues and allow you to restart successfully.

If your operating system was installed on your "C:" drive the applicable command would be "chkdsk c: /r".
 

3.  Access Recovery Console.  Recovery Console may be accessed from either the Windows XP Setup CD or the Windows XP Setup Disks (set of six floppy disks).  Boot from either the setup CD or floppy disk set to access it.  You should try to use media compatible with your current system:  Home or Professional; original, SP1, SP2.  When in doubt, I'd start with Windows XP SP2 (Home Edition?) media and work backwards.  If your system has a floppy drive, you may download the exact configuration for your current system:

How to obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks:
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994/

How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP:
    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307654

You receive an error message if you try to install the Recovery Console on a Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer:
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/898594/
   

4.  Recent Changes.  Did you update any software and/or hardware recently?  Disable swap/paging file?  Particularly just before you restarted and went into automatic restart mode?


5.  Recovery from OEM Restore CD.  If you decide to re-install from your OEM Recovery CD (Restore CD), you should consider buying and installing to a new hard drive so as to not overwrite your current data.  Best to take out old drive and replace with new to "ensure" old drive not overwritten during install.  Then worry about getting data off of old drive.  However, I hope you're not at that point yet.  There are still options that may be tried.